Rehoboam’s Folly

1 ⁱRehoboam went to ^jShechem, for all Israel had come to Shechem to make him king. 2 And as soon as ^kJeroboam the son of Nebat heard of it (for ^lhe was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), then Jeroboam returned from¹ Egypt. 3 And they sent and called him, and Jeroboam and all the assembly of Israel came and said to Rehoboam, 4 ^m“Your father made our yoke heavy. Now therefore lighten the hard service of your father and his heavy yoke on us, and we will serve you.” 5 He said to them, ⁿ“Go away for three days, then come again to me.” So the people went away.

6 Then King Rehoboam took counsel with the old men, who had stood before Solomon his father while he was yet alive, saying, “How do you advise me to answer this people?” 7 And they said to him, “If you will be a servant to this people today and serve them, and speak good words to them when you answer them, then they will be your servants forever.” 8 But he abandoned the counsel that the old men gave him and took counsel with the young men who had grown up with him and stood before him. 9 And he said to them, “What do you advise that we answer this people who have said to me, ‘Lighten the yoke that your father put on us’?” 10 And the young men who had grown up with him said to him, “Thus shall you speak to this people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but you lighten it for us,’ thus shall you say to them, ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s thighs. 11 And now, whereas ^mmy father laid on you a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.’”

12 So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king said, ^o“Come to me again the third day.” 13 And the king answered the people harshly, and forsaking the counsel that the old men had given him, 14 he spoke to them according to the counsel of the young men, saying, ^m“My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add to your yoke. My father disciplined you with whips, but I will discipline you with scorpions.” 15 So the king did not listen to the people, for ^pit was a turn of affairs brought about by the Lord that he might fulfill his word, which ^qthe Lord spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.

The Kingdom Divided

16 And when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people answered the king, “What portion do we have in David? We have no inheritance in the son of Jesse. ^rTo your tents, O Israel! Look now to your own house, David.” So Israel went to their tents. 17 But Rehoboam reigned over ^sthe people of Israel who lived in the cities of Judah. 18 Then King Rehoboam sent ^tAdoram, who was taskmaster over the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death with stones. And King Rehoboam hurried to mount his chariot to flee to Jerusalem. 19 ^uSo Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day. 20 And when all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him to the assembly and made him king over all Israel. There was none that followed the house of David but ^vthe tribe of Judah only.

21 ^wWhen Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah and the tribe of Benjamin, 180,000 chosen warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to restore the kingdom to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. 22 But the word of God came to ^xShemaiah the man of God: 23 “Say to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the ^yrest of the people, 24 ‘Thus says the Lord, You shall not go up or fight against your relatives the people of Israel. Every man return to his home, ^zfor this thing is from me.’” So they listened to the word of the Lord and went home again, according to the word of the Lord.

Jeroboam’s Golden Calves

25 Then Jeroboam ^abuilt Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. And he went out from there and ^bbuilt Penuel. 26 And Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom will turn back to the house of David. 27 If this people ^cgo up to offer sacrifices in the temple of the Lord at Jerusalem, then the heart of this people will turn again to their lord, to Rehoboam king of Judah, and they will kill me and return to Rehoboam king of Judah.” 28 So the king took counsel and ^dmade two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “You have gone up to Jerusalem long enough. ^eBehold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.” 29 And he set one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. 30 Then ^fthis thing became a sin, for the people went as far as Dan to be before one.² 31 He also made ^gtemples on high places and ^happointed priests from among all the people, who were not of the Levites. 32 And Jeroboam appointed a feast on the fifteenth day of the eighth month like ⁱthe feast that was in Judah, and he offered sacrifices on the altar. So he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves that he made. And he placed in Bethel ^jthe priests of the high places that he had made. 33 He went up to the altar that he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day in the eighth month, in the month that he had devised from his own heart. And he instituted a feast for the people of Israel and went up to the altar ^kto make offerings.

I Cry Out Day and Night Before You

A Song. A Psalm of ^zthe Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to ^aMahalath Leannoth. A Maskil¹ of ^bHeman the Ezrahite.

Put On the New Self

1 ^bIf then you have been raised with Christ, seek ^cthe things that are above, where Christ is, ^dseated at the right hand of God. 2 ^eSet your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For ^fyou have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ ^gwho is your¹ life ^happears, then you also will appear with him ⁱin glory.

5 ^jPut to death therefore ^kwhat is earthly in you:^{2 l}sexual immorality, impurity, ^mpassion, evil desire, and covetousness, ⁿwhich is idolatry. 6 ^oOn account of these the wrath of God is coming.³ 7 ^pIn these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now ^qyou must put them all away: ^ranger, wrath, malice, ^sslander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 ^tDo not lie to one another, seeing that ^uyou have put off ^vthe old self⁴ with its practices 10 and ^whave put on ^xthe new self, ^ywhich is being renewed in knowledge ^zafter the image of ^aits creator. 11 ^bHere there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave,⁵ free; but Christ is ^call, and in all.

12 ^dPut on then, as ^eGod’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, ^fcompassionate hearts, ^gkindness, ^hhumility, meekness, and patience, 13 ^hbearing with one another and, ⁱif one has a complaint against another, ^gforgiving each other; ^gas the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on ^jlove, which ^kbinds everything together in ^lperfect harmony. 15 And let ^mthe peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called ⁿin one body. And ^obe thankful. 16 Let ^pthe word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, ^qsinging psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, ^rwith thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And ^swhatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, ^tgiving thanks to God the Father through him.

Rules for Christian Households

18 ^uWives, submit to your husbands, as ^vis fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and ^wdo not be harsh with them. 20 Children, obey your parents ^xin everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 22 Bondservants, obey ^xin everything those who are your earthly masters,⁶ not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 ^yWhatever you do, work heartily, ^zas for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord ^ayou will receive the inheritance as your reward. ^bYou are serving the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.

1 Masters, treat your bondservants⁷ justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.

Further Instructions

2 ^cContinue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it ^dwith thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may ^eopen to us a door for the word, ^fto declare the mystery of Christ, ^gon account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

5 ^hWalk in wisdom toward ⁱoutsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always ^jbe gracious, ^kseasoned with salt, ^lso that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

Final Greetings

7 Tychicus will tell you ^mall about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant⁸ in the Lord. 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, 9 and with him ⁿOnesimus, our faithful and ^obeloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here.

10 ^pAristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark ^qthe cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—^rif he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and Jesus who is called ^sJustus. ^tThese are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and ^uthey have been a comfort to me. 12 ^vEpaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always ^wstruggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand ^xmature and fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. 14 ^yLuke the beloved physician greets you, as does ^zDemas. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers⁹ at Laodicea, and to Nympha and ^athe church in her house. 16 And when ^bthis letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. 17 And say to ^cArchippus, “See that you fulfill ^dthe ministry that you have received in the Lord.”

18 I, Paul, ^ewrite this greeting with my own hand. ^fRemember ^gmy chains. ^hGrace be with you.